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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Achievers of Dreams

I
had to admit; when he told me that he had been in a competition for stand up
comics I just couldn’t see it. I mean,
he just didn’t look funny; strange, yes, but not funny. Furthermore, I had never heard him say
anything funny. He never even cracked a
joke. Yet, he had won the first round
and made it to the finals where he could win a chance to perform in
Tennessee. To say I was impressed was an
understatement. Shocked was more like
it.

However,
what I was impressed with was the fact that he had the guts to go after his
dream. Within him he had a desire to
make people laugh and he went for it.
Adam found something that he enjoyed and he took a chance, a chance that
seems to be paying off by the way.

A
few weekends ago the girls and I attended a show put on by area belly
dancers. Two of our friends, Maddie and
Laura, were in the show and they did an oopah of a job, which means it was
really really good. Now, I don’t know if
belly dancing was a lifelong dream of theirs or if they just saw the class,
thought it would be fun and signed up.
What I do know is that they found something that they enjoy doing and
have gone after it. They are quite
talented at it as well, but even if they weren’t it wouldn’t matter. They could see themselves doing it and,
therefore, they did it.

Other
friends of ours started growing bamboo and selling it to nurseries in the area,
but soon that wasn’t enough. Lynn and
Molly stepped out and opened their own nursery on the sunny Florida east coast
and though the weather hasn’t been friendly, they’ve stuck it out and seen
their dream grow.

And
those are just a few. Scott and Tamara
compete in tandem surfing, Angela models for the East Coast Bombshells and Todd
travels the world motivating people.
Some of the dreams are extravagant while others may seem small, but they
all involve risk to the one turning their dream into a reality.

I
understand that risk. To be honest it
twists my stomach into a knot of Christmas lights every time I take another
step on the path of my dream’s journey.
It is one thing to write stories for myself or even my family, or to
paint a picture that will never leave your living room or compose a song that
never leaves the shower. It is quite
another to send that precious creation out into a cruel and fickle world. It’s the same with starting a business or
performing on stage. You take that
special dream of yours out of the safety of your heart and put it out to a
judgmental public hoping with held breath that whether they like it or not,
they’ll at least be nice.

Yet,
even if they’re not - and not all will be -the dreamer presses onward,
determined to see it through to the end.
Nothing will discourage him or her from going to the next step; at
least, not the Achiever of Dreams.

There
are some who merely dream. Yet, they go
on and on as if the dream is all there is.
They went to start a business or they want to get into acting or writing
or public speaking and they talk it up big.
They have an itch and have even written down a goal or two or an outline
of how they would make their dream come true if, that is, they stopped talking
about it and did something.

I
realized recently that I was doing just that; an abundance of talking and not
much doing. Oh, I was writing; every day
as a matter of fact. However, I wasn’t
taking any real risks and getting the writing out there. Oh, I was putting things on the blog, just not
as often as I should or even wanted.
Yet, that had minimal risk. My
friends and family read it and, of course, they all said they enjoyed it. It gave me an ego boost, but when I was
honest with myself I realized that I didn’t truly expect any of them to say,
“My god, Robbie, that sucks worse than your wood working.” The people who read it and didn’t like it
simply kept their mouths shut and stopped reading.

In
order to continue on the journey of my dream I had to risk more. And I did.
As I was researching on how to put my books out electronically, I
discovered that I could put my blog on Kindle through Amazon. Before I could consider the ramifications, I
filled out the form and clicked send.
This would open my writing up to more people, people I didn’t know nor
had any contact with. I was nervous as
hell and walked away from the computer before I could cancel my account.

Everyone
who has a dream faces those moments of fear.
Call it stage fright, the jitters, or simply doubting your decision and
worrying about the future; we all feel it.
Yet, the Achievers push through those moments and travel onward. They harness that fear and turn their dreams
into realities. They are still afraid,
of course, but it doesn’t cripple them.

Furthermore,
they remain focused. While that popular
show entices or friends call for a night out, the Achiever stays fixed on their
course and chooses the long haul over the immediate pleasure. It calls for sacrifice and at times it may
seem as if the dreamer has isolated himself and checked out on life’s
activities, but saying “No,” now pays greater dividends later down the
road. The Achiever turns down the good
in order to have the better. Yes, that
means some things will be missed, but it will be worth it.

Anyone
can talk about their dreams. I hear
people do it all of the time. It’s one
of my favorite questions to ask. “What
is your dream?” My heart saddens when I
hear people say that they don’t have one or that they’re just trying to
survive. Life is not about surviving,
it’s about thriving. Dare to do more
than exist. Dare to do more than just
dream. I dare you to achieve that dream,
make the sacrifices, work until you sweat, and thrive in doing what it is you
want to do with your life and your time.
Big or small, it doesn’t matter.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

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About Robbie

The Mess That Is Me is merely my unique observations that sometimes find themselves hiding in the dark corners of a twisted mind. It is a sampling of what clutters my desk and fills the manila envelopes that find their way to editors In-boxes. If you enjoy what you read, please share the URL.

I live in sunny Florida where I spend my days taxiing the family to various places while jotting down the many crazy thoughts inside my head. I enjoy a freelance career writing for several magazines sharing some of my interesting viewpoints on life and those around me. I can usually be found on my back porch watching the squirrels chittering at the birds while enjoying a cigar, a scotch, and the many characters that talk to me inside my head.

My manuscripts have appeared in religious, parenting and retirement magazines, along with a ghost story or two. I am the author of the short story, Circle of Justice and the novella, Reaping the Harvest, both of which can be found at Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Feel free to visit, strike up a chat and share a story or two with me.